Disposable diaper



1967 I H. L. MARDER ETAL 3,306,293

DISPOSABLE DIAPER Filed July 31, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS HermanL. Murder Werner 0. Tundermann George D. Grippo BY ATTORNEY Feb. 28 1967Filed July 31, 1963 H. L. MARDER ETAL. D'ISPOSABLE DIAPER 4 Sheets-Sheet2 INVENTORS Herman L.Marde 'r Werner 0. Tundermonn George 0. GnppaATTORNEY 1967 H. MARDER ETAL 3,305,293

DISPOSABLE DIAPER Filed July 31, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I60 I7 I70 I40ITO lOu INVENTORS Herman L. Marder Werner L. Tundermanm George D. Gn'ppoBY ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,306,293 DISPOSABLE DIAPER Herman L.Marder, Plainfield, Werner 0. Tundermann, Colonia, and George D. Grippo,New Brunswick, N.J., assignors to Colgate-Palmolive Company, New York,

N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed July 31, 1963, Ser. No. 298,904 15Claims. (Cl. 128284) Although there are a number of disposable-typediapers known in the art, heretofore such diapers have not met withgeneral consumer acceptance. It is apparent that a great need exists fordisposable diapers which do not have the handicaps of those heretoforeavailable and this need will establish a ready market for an acceptablediaper. It appears that the major factors limiting the use of disposablediapers are their high relative cost as well as the fact that the soiledarticles do not lend themselves to convenient and sanitary disposal inquantity. Although the diapers in the prior art have had disposabilityin mind as an objective, they have not been satisfactory in that, eitherthey do not have good mechanical strength in use, or they do not havethe characteristic of rapid disintegrability and flushability intoilets. Generally, the prior art diapers have taken the form of a tubeor pocket filled with an absorbent after which the pockets have beensealed along the ends. It has been found that the absorbent core as thusutilized has been either prone to come out of the ends of the pockets atinopportune times and results in deposition in part thereof on thewearer, or is so completely sealed within the tube so as not to bereadily disintegratable and hence not flushable.

It is an object of this invention to provide a simple and inexpensivediaper which is adaptable for use with a plastic panty so that thelatter provides a barrier to leakage of liquid waste while retaining thediaper in place.

Another object is the provision of a disposable diaper embodying anabsorbent core having no wet strength which core is placed in anenvelope of permeable material which has considerable mechanicalstrength when in a wet or dry state.

A further object of the invention is to provide a unitary diaper whichincludes an absorbent core of fibrous material of high absorbency and nowet strength so that when placed in a volume of water it will, withslight agitation, disintegrate into a slurry of fibers.

This invention also contemplates the provision of a novel disposablediaper which is shaped and formed so as to make it adaptable to snuglyfit the wearer; and in which the envelope is very thin and limp, and is,therefore, readily disposable after separation from the no wet strengthcore, when flushed in a conventional toilet bowl along with theseparated core.

Another object is to provide a disposable diaper which includes arelatively soft, smooth and non-abrasive envelope so as not to irritatewearers skin, and which will also be permeable to liquids.

Another object is the provision of a novel disposable diaper embodyingan envelope which is so overlapped that, when arranged on a child andwetted by the childs waste, surface tension of the liquid filmtherebetween will cause the overlapped edges of the'envelope to sticktogether without the use of adhesive, and wherein the bond strength sodeveloped adequately preserves the structural integrity of the diaperuntil deposited in the toilet. When so deposited, the non-adhesivelyadhered overlapped edges of the envelope tend to float apart and arefurther separated by the peeling forces developed by any slightagitation, such as the dipping of the diaper in the toilet bowl.

Still another object of this invention is the provision of a diaperwherein the disposal may be accomplished without the necessity fortouching the soiled portion thereof when agitating the same in a toiletbowl.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be manifest from aconsideration of the following specification and its accompanyingdrawings, wherein FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a preferredembodiment of the invention, in one stage of its assembly:

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 in which another step in theassembly of the article is illustrated:

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURES 1 and 2 showing the diaper in itsfinal assembled condition:

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view, partly broken away, taken substantiallyalong line 4-4 of FIGURE 3:

FIGURE 5 is a front view illustrating the manner of positioning thediaper upon the body of a baby:

FIGURE 6 is a plan view of a modified embodiment of a disposable diaperformed in accordance with this invention:

FIGURE 7 is a plan view illustrating still another embodiment of adisposable diaper:

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view illustrating the manner of using thediaper illustrated in FIGURE 7:

FIGURES 9 and 10 are perspective views illustrating still furthermodifications which the invention may assume:

FIGURE 11 is a perspective view of a further embodiment, wherein theenvelope parts are folded differently: and

FIGURE 12 is a sectional view, taken along the line 1212 of FIGURE 11.

Referring more particularly to the drawings wherein similar referencecharacters designate like parts throughout the several views, FIGURES 1to 5, inclusive, illustrate a disposable diaper comprising a rectangularenvelope member 10 which is thin and limp so that it may pass throughthe small orifice of the toilet bowl when suspended in water. It is alsoa material which is soft, smooth, and non-abrasive so that it will notirritate a childs skin and yet have a high wet strength. It should alsobe permeable to liquids and have a high wicking rate. An example of sucha material from which the envelope member 10 may be formed is a high wetstrength plasticized and bacteriostat impregnated paper commonly sold asdiaper liner of 19 lbs. basis weight. Although the diaper liner paper ispresently preferred, other materials, such as, lightweight, non-wovenfabrics, or knitted meshes may be used.

superposed on the envelope member 10 and centrally and longitudinallyarranged thereon is a core generally indicated at 11. This core isformed of a fibrous material having high absorbency and no wet strength.For example, Water leaf rnulti-ply crepe wadding or sulfite cellulosefluff, or a defibered flock of bleached, softwood Kraft fibers, ordegreased cotton linters, or combinations thereof may be used. When thecore is composed of tissue paper, in order to assist in thedisintegration thereof upon being immersed in water, the core ispreferably sub-divided into a plurality of lower sections 12 andplurality of overlying upper sections 13. The sections 12 and 18 arepositioned in edge-to-edge relations-hip and extend transversely acrossthe envelope member 10, as clearly shown in FIGURE 1, and the uppersections 13 are spaced inwardly of the ends of and overlie the abuttingedges of the lower sections 12. On the other hand, if the core is formedof cellulose fluff, a solid core structure may be utilized, in anobvious manner, not shown. In other words, it may not be necessary tosubdivide the core into sections.

It will be noted that the ends of the stacked sections 12 and 13 arespaced from the adjacent side edges of the envelope member 10, as shownin FIGURE 1, and that the marginal portions 14 of the envelope memberare folded inwardly and over the core 11, as indicated in the overlappedposition of FIGURE 2. The marginal portions 14 are then spot glued, asat 15, to the sections 12 and 13. The device is completed by positioningthereover another envelope member 16, of a material similar to, but notnecessarily the same as, that of the envelope member 10, which sheet isof the same width as the folded envelope member 10 and substantiallylonger than the core, but terminates short of the ends of the envelopemember 10. Sheet 16 is adhered to the exposed surfaces of the sections12-13 of the core 11 by spot gluing, as at 17. The glue and 17 may beeither of the water resistant or water soluble variety but, it is to benoted that the envelope member 16 is not glued directly to the envelopemember 10, as this would prevent, or at least restrict, the separationof the core 11 from the envelope, while disposing of the used diaper ina toilet bowl. While the use of spot gluing has been described, it maybe desirable to utilize lines, or other patterns of adhesive in lieuthereof. However, in either event, it is to be noted that the glue areashould be located adjacent to the inturned marginal portions 14 ofenvelope member 10. 'It is also feasible to utilize embossing whereinthe envelope members 16 and 10 are respectively caused to adhere to thecore by the application of suitable pressure. It will, of course, beunderstood that stitching, needle punching, or any other commonfastening media, not shown, may be utilized in lieu of glue, bearing inmind that members 10 and 16 of the envelope are fastened to the core,but are never secured to each other.

In the use of the aforesaid preferred form of the invention, it will beapparent that the diaper may be placed in customary position upon thebody of a child, as indicated in FIGURE 5, whereupon the end portions ofthe envelope member 10 may be secured to adjacent clothing of the child,or the entire device held in position by plastic pants or the like. Theends of the envelope provide tabs which may be tucked over the childsplastic pants, as shown in FIGURE 5, and thereby act to retain thediaper in position on the child. It will be apparent that the compositeenvelope will act to retain the mechanical integrity of the diaper whensoiled and when wet with urine and while being subjected to thedisruptive action of the childs body movement.

When the diaper is worn and supported by the panty and thereby pressedagainst the wearers body, the core is restricted from coming out of theenvelope, because the overlapped edges of envelope members 10 and 16,when Wet, are held together by the surface tension of the liquidtherebetween. This force of the surface tension acts to preclude slidingor relative movement between t-he overlapping edges. When it is desiredto dispose of the used diaper, it is only necessary to grasp oneextended end thereof and place the diaper within the confines of atoilet bowl. Before flushing, the diaper is dipped in the water in thecustomary manner, commonly used by mothers to remove the bulk soil fromcloth diapers. As the envelope members are respectively secured to thestacked core sections 1213 only, and not to each other, the action ofthe water, and the weight of the wet core, causes envelope member 16 tofloat away and peel downwardly off and to separate from the envelopemember 10. As a result, the soil will be washed into the bowl withenvelope member 16 and the core 11 will fall into the toilet anddisintegrate into a slurry of fibers or small segments. Thereupon, theenvelope member 10 may be allowed to drop into the bowl and the entirediaper may be flushed therethrough. Thus, the diaper and its contents iscompletely disposed of without soiling the hands of the person handlingthe same.

In FIGURE 6, there is shown an alternate embodiment of the diaperillustrated in FIGURES l to 5, in-

elusive, wherein the difference lies in the envelope ment ber 16A beingwider than the envelope member 10 and its inturned marginal portions 14.In this case, the envelope member 16A may be folded under the envelopemember 10. It will be apparent that the use and dis posal of this formof diaper will be identical with the previously described preferredform.

Another embodiment of disposable diaper is shown in FIGURES 7 and 8. Inthis case, the diaper corresponds to that illustrated in FIGURES l to 5,except that attached to each end portion thereof is a transverselyextending strap member 18. It will be apparent that when this form ofdiaper is placed upon a babys body, it may be held in position by tyingthe end portions of each of the strap members 18, as at 19, to maintainthe same in position upon the childs body without utilizing any othersupporting means.

Referring to FIGURES 9 and 10, it will be noted that the diaper embodiesa shaped core to provide a more comfortable fit. In FIGURE 9, the coreconsists of two spaced, transverse end sections 21 having threesuperposed elongated core strips 21' bridging the core sections 21 toeffect a generally I-shape configuration. Another modified form of corestructure is illustrated in FIGURE 10, wherein a three thickness core isemployed, which includes only a single end section 21 and elongated topand bottom strips 21' and an intermediate two-part strip 21" interposedthrebetween, generally approximating a T-shape configuration. In boththe forms of FIGURES 9 and 10, it will be understood that the cores havebeen narrowed and shaped so as to provide a better fit in the crotcharea. Thus, as the thin, limp, envelope will be caused to easily conformto the spatial confinement between the childs legs.

A modified form of envelope is illustrated in FIGURES 11 and 12, whichdiffers from the preferred form shown in FIGURE 3 in that the envelopemember 19A has only one marginal edge portion folded upwardly andinwardly, as at 14A, and the opposing marginal edge portion of envelopemember 16A is folded inwardly, so as to overlie the other or unfoldedside edge of member 10A as at 16B. Thus, the respective single foldedmarginal edges of members 10A and 16A oppose one another and, as shownin FIGURE 12, the envelope members 10A and 16A are, respectively, spotglued, as at 17A, to the core sections, and not to each other, in thesame general manner as previously described. In this embodiment, it willbe noted that the core sections 11 are arranged within What cangenerally be considered a tube constituted by the envelope members 10Aand 16A. The member 16A is preferably of shorter length than member 10Aso as to be spaced from the ends of the latter to provide handling andgrasping tabs or portions on member 10A.

While a preferred embodiment and several modifications thereof have beenillustrated and described, it is to be understood that various othermodifications and improvements may be made without departing from thescope and spirit of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A diaper including a non wet strength absorbent core, an envelopeincluding a pair of members, said members encasing said core to form asubstantially flattened tube, said tube being open at its ends andsubstantially longer than said core, the corresponding longitudinalmarginal edges of said envelope members being substantially inoverlapped relationship so that when wet the envelope members are heldtogether at the marginal edges by the surface tension of the liquidtherebetween, said envelope members being secured to said core butunsecured to each other so that they become separated from each otherwhen dipped in a toilet bowl.

2. A diaper as defined in claim 1 wherein said core is formed of aplurality of sections, said sections being of multiply tissue paper.

3. A diaper as defined in claim 1 wherein the envelope members are ofunequal length to facilitate separation of said members when the diaperis suspended from an end and dipped in a toilet bowl.

4. A diaper as defined in claim 1 wherein the core is of a defiberedflock cellulose material.

5. A diaper as defined in claim 2 where in said core is formed of aplurality of sections, said sections generally approximating an I-shapeconfiguration.

6. A diaper as defined in claim 2 wherein said core is formed of aplurality of sections, said sections generally approximating a T-shapedconfiguration.

7. A diaper comprising an envelope of high wet strength materialincluding a pair of substantially flat members, a substantiallyrectangular core interposed between said members, said core being of noWet strength absorbent material, one of said members having its sidemarginal edges folded upon said core, and the other of said membersbeing superposed on said core and marginal edges, means for securingsaid core to each of said members whereby when dipped into a toilet bowlthe core will separate from the envelope and will be flushable throughthe toilet.

8. A diaper comprising an envelope of high wet strength materialincluding a pair of substantially flat members, a substantiallyrectangular core interposed between said members, said core being of noWet strength absorbent material, said core including a plurality ofseparable superposed sections, said core sections being spaced from theends of said flat members, one of said members having side marginaledges folded upon said core, and the other of said members beingsuperposed on said core and folded marginal edges so that when wet theenvelope members are held together at the marginal edges by the surfacetension of the liquid therebetween, means for adhesively securing thesame side of said core to each of said members whereby the latter remainunsecured to each other so that when dipped into a toilet bowl the corewill become separated from said envelope members and will be flushablethrough the toilet.

9. A diaper comprising an envelope of high wet strength materialincluding a pair of substantially flat members, a substantiallyrectangular core interposed between said members, said core being of nowet strength absorbent material, said core including a plurality ofseparable superposed sections, said core sections being spaced from theends of said flat members to provide handling tabs on said envelope, oneof said flat members having side marginal edges folded upon said core,and the other of said flat members being superposed on said core andfolded marginal edges so that when wet the envelope members are heldtogether at the marginal edges by the surface tension of the liquidtherebetween, said core being spot adhesively secured on the same sideto each of said flat members whereby the latter remain unsecured to eachother so that when handled by said 6 tabs and said core is dipped into atoilet bowl the core will 'become separated from said flat envelopemembers and will be flushable through the toilet.

10. A diaper comprising an envelope of high wet strength materialincluding a pair of substantially flat members, a substantiallyrectangular core interposed between said members, one of said membershaving one marginal edge folded around and under said core, and theother of said members having one marginal edge folded over and inwardlyof said core, said members being secured to said core but beingunsecured from each other whereby when dipped into a toilet 'bowl thecore will separate from the envelope and will be flushable through thetoilet.

11. A diaper comprising an envelope of high wet strength materialincluding a pair of substantially flat members, a substantially fiatrectangular core interposed between said members, said core being of noWet strength absorbent material, one of said members having one marginaledge folded around and under said core, and the other of said membershaving an opposing marginal edge folded over and inwardly of said core,said members being secured .to said core 'but being unsecured from eachother whereby when dipped into a toilet bowl the core will separate fromthe envelope and will be flushable through the toilet.

12. A diaper as defined in claim 8 wherein said core sections arepositioned in edge-to-edge relation in a plurality of superposed rows.

13. A diaper as defined in claim 7 wherein a transverse strap is atfixedto each portion of one of said flat envelope members whereby saidenvelope and core are attachable to the wearer.

14. A diaper as defined in claim 2 wherein said core sections arearranged in layers.

15. A diaper as defined in claim 12 wherein said core sections areelongated end to end, said sections being superposed one on the other,

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,560,332 7/1951Crane 128--287 2,649,858 8/1953 Le Bolt 128-284 2,649,859 8/1953Hermanson et a1. 128-287 2,890,700 6/1959 Lonberg-Holm 128-284 3,071,1381/1963 Garcia 128-290 3,106,207 10/1963 Dudley 128290 FOREIGN PATENTS1,224,201 6/ 1960 France.

68,881 6/ 1945 Denmark.

RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner. C. F. ROSENBAUM, AssistantExaminer.

1. A DIAPER INCLUDING A NON WET STRENGTH ABSORBENT CORE, AN ENVELOPEINCLUDING A PAIR OF MEMBERS, SAID MEMBERS ENCASING SAID CORE TO FORM ASUBSTANTIALLY FLATTENED TUBE, SAID TUBE BEING OPEN AT ITS ENDS ANDSUBSTANTIALLY LONGER THAN SAID CORE, THE CORRESPONDING LONGITUDINALMARGINAL EDGES OF SAID ENVELOPE MEMBERS BEING SUBSTANTIALLY INOVERLAPPED RELATIONSHIP SO THAT WHEN WET THE ENVELOPE MEMBERS ARE HELDTOGETHER AT THE MARGINAL EDGES BY THE SURFACE TENSION OF THE LIQUIDTHEREBETWEEN, SAID ENVELOPE MEMBERS BEING SECURED TO SAID CORE BUTUNSECURED TO EACH OTHER SO THAT THEY BECOME SEPARATED FROM EACH OTHERWHEN DIPPED IN A TOILET BOWL.